It’s been a while since I last posted but life has been crazy the last month of school. We have had many events at our school that I have been helping with. My schedule was crazy due to helping with our school’s state testings and trying to process school ending and preparing for the race.
Last summer I was really into running. I would even go so far as to say I was good. Now for no reason whatsoever does this mean you should stop me in the street and ask for an autograph. I was not running Olympic times, and I probably looked like a basketball player who wanted to become a runner. So when I say ‘good’ I mean I didn’t want to die while running, I sometimes even enjoyed myself!
I enjoyed running so much that I would go on four-mile runs by choice. One day, I decided I was going to try trail running in the woods. There was a path around a small pond only about a mile away from my apartment. Once there my plan was to run around in the woods for a bit and come back out on the path then run back. My thoughts were to run no more than 4-5 miles because I am a basketball player, not a runner so this distance was pushing it already.
That morning I got up, put my running clothes on right away because otherwise exercising just won’t happen. I ate my banana and peanut butter and had a glass of water then I deemed myself ready.
My run to the trail was great, I felt really good (the kind of good that makes me think I can run 10 more miles). I had made it to the trail and I discovered that trail running just wasn’t for me. I ended up walking in the woods just enjoying the views.
Let me just say that I have walked these woods before and had no problems. However, on this day I Emma Donahue got lost. I was having such a good time walking in the woods and looking at the nature around me that didn’t even notice the time. I had been walking for over an hour away from the pond.
Now being a former girl scout and a having a father who gets lost to find his way out I didn’t panic. Yes, I should have brought my cell phone. Yes, I should have had more than one glass of water to drink and I probably should have brought my ID and maybe $5, just in case. But who could have predicted that I would get lost in an area I thought I knew.
So I just kept walking because I knew that if I kept following the path I would eventually meet up with the bike path or another person. Some time later, I still hadn’t found my way. By now I was getting a little panicked. I mean before I realized I was lost, I was seeing people left and right and watching my back for the bikers sharing the trail. But now there was no one. I was starting to sweat and get chills. I just kept reminding myself to breathe. Breathe had been my motto throughout college because if you only breathe you can get through anything.
Finally, after crossing train tracks I parked myself in the middle of the path. I was just hoping someone would come along to save the day. A man wearing bright orange shorts come strolling along and was more than happy to help out. He told me I was only about 10 minutes away from where I started. WHAT?!?! Here I had been wandering for over an hour and I was so close.
As I was making my way back, my thoughts drifted to the question: why had I not trusted myself? Why hadn’t I trusted God? Trust is hard to understand. Even the disciples didn’t trust Jesus when the storm was all around them. They were so fearful that their boat would sink and here Jesus was sleeping through it all. In Matthew 8:25-26 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. Simple. The disciples were lacking trust in God. I was lacking trust in God. Here I was, never truly lost. I was never alone, He was always with me. Psalm 118:6 The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
Flash forward a year, I walked that same trail today. The difference is I walked it with my phone, water, food and my ID (I was taking no chances). I didn’t get lost, but this is because I had my trust in God. He was my guide and my listening ear as I processed the last month. Even if I hadn’t brought my backpack full of items I would have been fine because all I really needed was God.
Back to my never ending run. It ended up being about 3 hours from when I left my apartment to when I returned. Needless to say, I won’t be going on a run again without God.
Training Camp in 8 Days!!!
Launch in 65 Days!!
